


Cherry Blossoms

by MiniPrinny



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Character Study, Diary/Journal, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Past Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Torture, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-07-19 20:38:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19980169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniPrinny/pseuds/MiniPrinny
Summary: Sakura Yukimoto plays many roles, shrine maiden, dark knight, adventurer, chef, and metalsmith. Yet behind her gentle smile and a forced silence is a woman of many stories. As one of Hydaelyn's blessed, she is an ally of the world's champion, yet everyone has their own stories and this is her's.





	1. Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first of what will hopefully be an on-going project. I may add fellow people that I roleplay with into the mix, or even minor side characters who don't get enough love. For now though, this is her first story, the event that shaped her future and started her life as an adventurer.

Pain. Intense searing pain. The smoke in the air and crackling fire burned her body inside and out, the dark of night was illuminated by the glow of the flames. Her head rose to see her mother and a blood curdling scream loosed from her throat. Her own voice was extinguished by yet another jolt of pain as her vision went dark.

She awoke with a start. The cool air of her apartment left her feeling chilly despite her comforter laying over her. She threw the comforter off her body and sat up, running a hand throw her hair that was matted with sweat. A deep sigh left her lips. Again, the same nightmare. It was always the same, every time. With tired eyes she looked around her dimly lit bedroom. On the undisturbed part of her comforter a small komainu rested, its slow, rhythmic breathing putting her mind at peace. She slowly crawled away from her futon and comforter and moved into the main room. Her throat was achingly dry, it hurt to even breathe. She found her waterskin, her hands still shaking, and briefly struggled just to unscrew the cap. The cool water was like an elixir. She drank close to half the container before stopping with a gasp. Her eyes closed as she caught her breath.

Her eyes glanced over to her journal. Her mind shouted at her to write it down for once, if only so she could try to stop this nightmare. She looked over the worn leather cover, her name written out in faded calligraphy, and a tinge of nostalgia crossed her mind. She opened the front cover and sighed as she noticed the old stories, those written just after the event she was about to add. Her handwriting was so shaky at the time and her name, the name she cherished, was hardly used. She flipped through the pages; there would be time to go over them later.Putting her quill to the well-loved paper, tears welled up in her eyes as she recalled the events that lead her to where she is today.

* * *

The memories came to her in vivid colors, as if a master landscape artist had painted a beautiful scene before her. Her home village was a simple, peaceful place, nestled into the Yanxian mountains. While officially part of Doma, the town was secluded from the country as a whole and rarely saw patrolling officers looking for any sort of contraband or illegal activities. It was not quite a sleepy life. If not for the large shrine which her family owned, the few soldiers who would visit them would have leave them be. Yet due to her father’s insistence upon keeping the shrine open, the soldiers often made harsh demands to have the shrine closed. Her family persisted however, they were after all the ruling nobility of the village as well as the leaders of its faith; to close the shrine would be to surrender what little freedom they had left.

Due to their stubborn refusal however, the village had grown increasingly threatened by the soldiers, with the most recent visit breaking out into a minor scuffle between the occupying forces and her home. Since then, her father proposed guard shifts, she didn’t question why she was chosen to watch the northern entrance and she did as she was told. However, the shifts were quite long and staring at the occasional small furry critter or bird was hardly an entertaining way to spend a young woman’s afternoon, so she often ended up napping until her brother came to relieve her, and that day had been no different. Her brother found her, yet again, absentmindedly passed out, using her arms to soften the railing of the guard tower as she rested. She awoke slowly as he poked her cheek, “Mmmnnn… five more minutes…”

“Get up, Sakura, you’re quite aware that father doesn’t take kindly to you shirking your guard duty.”

She lifted herself up and yawned while rubbing her eyes, “I can’t help it, Kagetora. Even the kami who follow me grow weary watching such dull landscape.”

Kagetora gawked at his sister from her explanation, she knew what that expression meant, she had seen it many times since she started studying the magickal arts of being a miko under her mother’s tutelage. The vacant expression always meant just one thing, he didn’t understand what she had meant. “Brother, I know you can’t hear them, but they’re as bored as I am, just believe me. **Your** kami aren’t looking forward to guard duty either.” She flashed him a playful smile as she walked towards the stairwell.

“Sister, I do hope you take this more seriously tomorrow.” Kagetora retorted. His sternness gave her pause for just a moment. She looked at the sword that hung at his hip and then the imposing cliffs that hid the rest of Yanxia from view. She opened her mouth for a playful retort, but decided against it and stepped down the stairwell.

* * *

Teardrops landed on the page she wrote the first passage, soaking into the soft parchment and smearing her writing. She paused for a moment to dry her tears, her heart already aching. Her eyes fell to the sword that rested by her satchel as she collected herself for the next passage. She could do this. If the blade she kept at her side had the strength to persevere through so much hardship, then so could she.

* * *

That evening, after her family had eaten, her father called upon her as she was practicing her swordplay with Kagetora. She stepped through the mansion, her clothed feet leaving soft pattering on the floor as she approached her father’s study. She paused before the shōji door that separated her from the room beyond it. She looked at the groove used to open the door and swallowed hard. She reached out to slide it open only to find her father standing before her. He was a towering man in comparison to her, nearly twice her height. He placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her into the study. “Do not sit yet, my dear. We will not be staying here for long.”

Sakura did not respond, but gave him an acknowledging gaze none-the-less. As the head of the family, her father was only spoken to when asked. “Kagetora has told me you were found sleeping on guard duty again, Sakura. If you were not my daughter, I would have punished you severely. However, I have been keeping a secret from you.”

He paused to collect his thoughts, his hands steepled in thought as he looked at the young woman before him. Sakura almost broke decorum from the prolonged silence before he spoke once more. “Come with me, my dear. I have to show you something, so you can better understand why our need to guard ourselves from outsiders has increased over the past few moons.”

He led her, in silence, out of the mansion and through the grounds of the family’s shrine. The sun had just set and the world was bathed in bright moonlight. With cherry blossoms in the air and a warm spring breeze, the world felt almost dream-like. However, Sakura found little serenity in the appearance of her family’s land. At this time of night, the kami were usually the most active and her still developing sense of them would be hard to control. However, this evening they were still and those she could sense were anxious. She followed her father’s walk, his strong frame making her feel safe despite the peculiar behavior of the kami around them.

Their short trip lead to the shrine’s storehouse. Her father looked back at her, only to be met with a perplexed expression on across his daughter’s face. “It is quite alright, my dear. I will give you the answer soon. After all, while you are my favorite flower, I realized long ago that you would need to experience the thorns of the **wild roses** eventually.”

She heard a soft click and looked at the storehouse in confusion. Following her father inside, she glanced around. The darkness hid most of the building as her father took her by the hand and led her to the back of the building, where, hidden among the crates, was an open door in the floorboards, leading down into a cellar with dimly lit steps. Her father didn’t say a word, but lead her downwards into the light, only pausing to close the door once he was clear of it. Once in the underground chamber, Sakura’s eyes grew wide as she saw many men and women, some injured, some not, but all appearing worn and tired, most of them resting on straw bedding. She looked to her father in confusion before he spoke. “Good evening everyone. This, as I am sure most of you are aware, is my daughter, Sakura. She has come with me simply to learn the truth. We shall be preparing to escort you and yours from the premises this evening and she shall be accompanying us.”

The pieces quickly fell into place as she stared at the people before her, almost all were of Doman birth, lupin, roegadyn, au ra, and hyur alike rested for the evening escort. She swallowed softly and looked to her father, who smiled and beckoned for her to speak her mind. “Father, what is all this? You were helping the rebels? Does mother know of this? What of Kagetora? Does the town know? How long has this been going on?”

Her father stared at her in stony silence as she barraged him with questions, breathing deeply to calm his mind once she finished. “Yes, they all know. Many in the village have been providing supplies. We have been aiding this cause since before you were born, my dear. It is part of the family trade at this point. You and the children younger than you were not to be told. We did not wish to endanger any more children. However, that stopped being an option. The most recent visit by the soldiers has lead to the empire ordering the destruction of our village, which is why we are getting these people out tonight. We will see them to a cavern passage a few malms out of town and then return and prepare to vacate the village as well.”

She felt ill, the shock of the revelation left her sick to the stomach. She never held much love for empire, but the empire was also all she ever knew. She spoke and read their language, was taught their education, even used their currency. As she looked up at her father and saw the compassion in his eyes and nodded, taking a step back a grabbing a nearby spear. She would do her duty and save these people, then figure the rest out later.

* * *

Sakura lifted her head up from her writing and breathed slowly and deeply to calm her nerves. This is where things began to sour. She looked idly to the polearm which hung on a rack by her door, its design differing greatly from the one she had used then. Her current polearm had a beautiful crescent axe and was well maintained, a lovingly cared for weapon which she used frequently. The one from her past was little more than a sharpened stick. She laughed softly to herself at the audacity of it, she had never intended on using the spear, but she knew better than to leave home without a weapon.

* * *

Her father lead the escort while she held the rear. The forest around her home village in the mountains was rather homely and while far from the capital, Namai laid at the foothills of the mountains. Sakura knew of the caves her father was leading them to, they were cramped and treacherous in inclement weather, but on good days it was quicker than climbing down the steep and winding trails to the valleys below. It was hardly an hour before they reached the entrance to the cavern. Outside of a few stumbles here and there due to injuries of the refugees, the trip was uneventful. Sakura’s nerves couldn’t relax however, the spirits she was so in tuned with growing more and more quiet as they approached.

The crackling of musket fire lit up the night as startled birds flew from the trees. The world around her whizzed by and she heard her father shouting something or another as the refugees ran into the caves while the other villagers remained behind to fight off whoever had ambushed them. Sakura swallowed hard and looked around before one of the men next to screamed in agony. Her eyes grew wide as blood splashed across her robes and face. Her heartbeat quickened as he fell to the ground, dead. She breathed deeply and silently prayed to the spirits around her, drawing in the ambient aether, the dying man’s own spirits aiding her. She opened her eyes and, sensed a soldier’s aim upon her, conjured a barrier. The cast iron pellets fell harmlessly to the ground upon impacting the wall of hard light she had created. She looked at him and lifted her hand, launching a volley of inky orbs in response. He screamed and dropped to the floor, dead. He was dead. She had killed him. The thought broke her focus and she stepped back. Panic overwhelming her as she shook her head, she had fought back on instinct. Her father’s voice broke the trance before she could get sucked in too deeply, “Sakura! Run to the village and get aid! We’ll hold the soldiers off!”

“Yes, father!” She could barely speak still, as she stepped back slowly before turning into a sprint, the barrier of hard light following her, the clattering of gunfire beating against it, the sound making her cry out in fear.

Her lungs burned as she sprinted through the forest, each step making her muscles ache. What had just happened? The soldiers attacked her indiscriminately, they had tried to kill her. She looked down at her bloodstained robes and shuddered as her feet kept moving. Her hand tightened around the spear in her hand. A chill ran down her spine. She looked to the right and saw a glimmer. Still running she chucked the spear hard at the slight sparkling, a man’s scream following. She did not know if she had killed the soldier, and did not know if there was something wrong with hoping she hadn’t smothered out another life. Her mind reeled at the thought, but she had to remain focused on her father and the other villagers. He was in danger, her whole life was in danger.

As she approached the village, her lungs aching and heart ready to burst, she felt her stomach do flips. The was smoke rising from the walls and cinders in the air. She screamed in horror and doubled her efforts. She felt ill and the world was blurring past her hurried feet. She tried to focus any aether the kami would grant her, but little was coming, she couldn’t concentrate. She approached the northern gate, the same she was guarding earlier that day and saw her brother fighting off a uniformed soldier of a race she didn’t recognize. Whoever they were weren’t from the far east. “Kagetora! What’s going on?!” Her voice left her before she could even process what she had done. In the split second of hesitancy, Kagetora’s grip on his own blade faltered. The sound would haunt her for her entire life. Her brother’s body flew back. With a sickening crunch, he slammed into the watchtower by the gate before slumping over. The sword he wielded flew into the dirt near her feet. She rushed over, paying no heed to the soldier, who hadn’t noticed her and had gone deeper into the village. “B-brother!” She gave whatever aether she had stored to him in the form of healing, the spell doing little. He coughed hoarsely and looked up at his sister with a faltering gaze. “S-Sakura… run away… there’s too many of them…” She couldn’t, she gripped his hand and fell to her knees. He had always protected her. “Kagetora, no… save your strength, you’ll be okay. You’ll be okay!” His hoarse, ragged breathing told her otherwise as she stared at him in disbelief. “Sakura, dear sister… you need to escape while you can… please. This is… my last time I’ll get to hound you.” He forced a strained laugh before closing his eyes and whispering one last word before his breathing stilled. “Live…”

Hot tears ran down her face as she knelt there, the screams of her neighbors no longer reaching her ears. The heat of the growing flames not even warming her skin. She felt numb and cold. Her whole body ached and the pain in her chest felt like it would engulf her. She glanced around, her vision locked on the broken blade by her brother’s feet. She looked back at the pained expression on his face and shuddered. Taking a moment to close his empty eyes, she turned and gripped the blade’s hilt. It was heavy in her hands and too big for her to use effectively. Her feet led her into the village, each step burning her muscles and making her want to scream out in agony. There. The soldiers who had killed him. The soldiers who were taking away her everything. The commander with his hideous white armor, a cheap imitation of purity. She howled in rage and ran for him, reckless and foolish. He turned and the world went dark.

She awoke a few hours later, her hands tied behind her back. Her vision was completely dark. She tried to speak, but a cloth gagged her mouth. She squirmed as best she could, her legs tied as well. Her heartbeat quickened as she heard heavy footsteps come her way. Agony filled her gut as a heavy steel boot slammed into her. She coughed and cried out, whimpering softly. “Now that the spoiled bitch is awake, let’s get this execution going.” Between her aching coughs and the now painful ache in her stomach, her mind reeled further. Execution? Why did she need to be awake just to be killed? “This’ll be a reminder to you damned savages as to why you don’t worship your eikons or harbor rebels. You there, remove that bitch’s blindfold, I want the youngest to suffer as she watches the rest of her inhuman family die before her.” She felt a soldier untie the blindfold and squinted as the light of dawn blinded her. Before her was a guillotine, its edge glinting in the light with lethal sharpness. She swallowed hard at the sight and struggled some more. The soldier behind her held her down and whispered with sharply into her ear. “Stay still unless you want this to be more painful than it already will be.”

Beside her was most of the village, bruised and exhausted, quite a few with hastily bandaged wounds. All of them were gagged and those who were uninjured were bound. The commander stood there with a disgusting grin on his face, soldiers at the ready with their muskets pointed into the crowd. The image made knots in her stomach. “Now then, let’s begin.” The commander’s voice struck her like the depths of winter’s chill. “Take the male **beast’s** life first. He’s not long for this world after all those injuries.” An executioner stepped forward with her father before him. The whole village breathed in sharply at the sight, his body was heavily maimed and he couldn’t even walk without aid, his left arm cut off cleanly at the shoulder. Without words the executioner slammed his neck into the guillotine and locked his barely alive body tight. He spat at the basket below, no words for his enemy. The blade fell with disgusting efficiency and his body spasmed before falling limp. With no care for the corpse’s dignity, the executioner kicked his lifeless form off the chopping block and walked into the tent.

Sakura’s mind was burning, both of the men closest to her had died in a single night. She knew this torture was far from over as she saw the executioner walk out with her mother. She was bound just like her, but untouched. She had surrendered peacefully. Her dear mother who had taught her so much about life walked calmly towards the block. Her body struggled in the soldier’s grip, she had to save her. “Quit squirming.” The soldier forced her down into the dirt and twisted her neck to watch the execution. “My dear flower… please live somehow. Kami preserve our family’s ho-” her mother’s prayer was cut short. The remaining air in the body’s lungs squeaking out as her mother’s body rolled off the block and towards her, the blood slowly oozing through the dirt. Sakura cried out as her mind went blank in shock.

The crowd howled muffled insults but was quickly silenced by a warning shot fired over their heads. “Now then, **conscript** . Take the bitch’s life. The block is too good for some savage **beast’s** ‘hope.” His venomous tone woke Sakura momentarily as she was lifted up from the ground. Tears rolling down her cheek as the soldier drew a finely sharpened dagger and raised it to her throat. She shook her head only to be gripped firmly by her horn. Her eyes grew wide just before she heard a soft, soothing voice whisper, “I’m sorry.” The blade bit into her skin and tore through her scales, plunging deep into her throat. She cried out behind the gag as blood and drool ran down her chin before she dropped to the ground, the world had gone dark.

* * *

Sakura looked up from the tear stained page, running a hand over the scar on her neck, and pondered what had happened after that. Her skin was cold, despite the beating of her heart and tears streaming down her face. She breathed in as calmly as she could as a faint memory of three words came to mind from a voice sweet and caring. “Hear… feel… think…” She closed her eyes as the words echoed in her mind before letting her body fall back onto the soft tatami mats she had installed in her apartment. She stared up at the ceiling as her memories consumed her. The next she knew after that day, she had awoken, alone and cold, the wound her neck sealed shut and the festering corpses of her parents laid out before her in the open air. With aching muscles she stood and coughed, her whole body hurting. There was no one around and her throat was dry. She didn’t even try to speak as she walked towards the charred remains of her village. There, upon the ground laid her brother’s broken hilt. She felt the tears sting her cheeks as she pulled what remained of the blade out of the dirt and held it to her chest. It was just long enough to use as a walking stick and to maybe defend herself with. She looked around at the village’s remains and then to the sky and cried out, unaware that her voice echoed only in her mind.


	2. Namai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura wanders from her home village to Namai and meets an older couple who give her housing for a few days before the Empire comes calling. All the while she is plagued by heavy thoughts, nightmares, exhaustion, and strange occurrences.

A few days later Sakura found herself flipping through her journal. The worn pages were wrinkled from time and nature. She had repaired the binding and added pages over the years, but never replaced the original pages. A sigh left her lips as she fell across the first passage she ever wrote. The ink had faded heavily in spots and reading her old writing left her with an awkward feeling. Her grammar and calligraphy were far from the style she had now. After a pause, she took up her quill and fetched a handful of clean, acid-free parchment and got to work. It would be a long evening, but well worth the effort. She couldn’t let the reason she obtained her crystal be lost to the flow of time. She knew one day some historian would wish to know about more than her friend’s tales and until then, it was up to her to chronicle her story.

* * *

The morning’s sun seared Sakura’s tear-stained cheeks as she walked with shaking legs down the forest path from the still warm ruins of her home. She used her brother’s zantetsuken-type katana as a walking stick. The blade’s tip was broken off and its edge had been shattered by Garlean cermet-reinforced steel. She cursed under her breath as she made her way down the mountain path. The usual dirt path was muddied by the rain from the night before and left her footing unsure.

Now in the daylight, she was able to see just how ruined the path was. A bloodied tree, a broken branch, torn cloth, bits of broken armor, it all lined the outskirts of the village. She passed a dead soldier and looked over the body. The man’s torso had been torn open, inky black crystals were forming around the edges of the wound. She knew it had been her magic that killed the man, she had seen the crystals on the practice turrets many, many times. Another malm and she came across the bodies of the refugees. She scowled at the sight, more failures to stack on her shoulders. She paused and stared at the sight, each and every one had been beheaded, the Garleans were thorough. The leader, the man who had welcomed her father so warmly had been placed on a pike in the center of the field. She was too tired to give them a proper burial and by the appearance of the bodies, each one had been pilfered for anything valuable and anything that would have been salvageable had been ruined with blood, dirt, rain, and ash. She wouldn’t find anything of worth. With an exasperated sigh she walked on.

By the time she had reached the foothills, Sakura’s stomach was aching with hunger pangs. Her eyes felt heavy and her limbs heavier still. She hadn’t rested. She grabbed what she could carry and would be useful that remained in the burnt out ruins of her home and left. With a sigh of exasperation she sat down on a nearby fallen log. In the satchel she had slung over her back she retrieved some of the dried fish her mother made a few weeks prior. Tears welled in her eyes as she weakly forced some of it down her throat. Her body convulsed, it didn’t want to eat something so dry and tough, but she choked it down anyway. Coughing she looked up and saw a shadow in the corner of her eye that resembled Kagetora. It was pointing straight ahead. She shook her head and looked at where the shadow had been and was met with the forest, birdsong, and the occasional chattering of a squirrel. She stared blankly at where it was pointing and picked up her satchel and headed straight. It was off the beaten path and required a bit of trudging through the brush. Fortunately her brother’s sword was not so ruined that it couldn’t hack down the occasional vine. After a few minutes of hiking Sakura came out upon a cool mountain river with small pools she could easily bathe in, there were even a few fish swimming about, none big enough to bother eating however. She nearly fell down in relief. Tears burned her sore cheeks and she walked slowly towards the river, setting down her satchel and removing her clothes as she went. The icy water left her breathless as she waded into the largest of the pools. The worn stones under her feet were large enough that she could easily sit. She slowly let her body sink into the water and soon felt her whole body relax. She ran her hands over her aching arms and legs, washing off blood, mud, and sweat from her hike down the mountain. The water that caressed her neck hurt slightly, the scabbed wound not appreciating the sudden drop in temperature. She winced and sighed before taking a deep breath and dunking her hair under the water. She laid underwater for a few moments, staring at the water’s surface before she came up for air. She breathed sweet air and ran her hands through her hair. It was matted and caked with mud and blood she hadn’t noticed. She shut her eyes and considered her options before realizing her head felt quite heavy now that she had soaked her hair.

Sakura pulled herself out of the pool after what she assumed to be another half bell. She had drank quite a bit of the cool water and filled the waterskin she found in her home. She looked over her stained and dirty clothes. While she desperately wanted to wash them, she knew that if she didn’t make it to Namai by the evening, she would have to spend the night in the forest, something she was ill-prepared to do. She smiled as the sun warmed her skin and dried her off, giving her time to think. She knew word of her survival likely hadn’t spread, so she would be safe for a while, at least until someone saw her face. She had no way of concealing it however. She would have to sell the few valuables that survived the raging fire. Her eyes fell on her brother’s broken sword. She couldn’t keep walking with this disgusting mound of hair on her head. Taking up the cracked blade she ran it against a nearby branch, it still had enough of an edge to cut. She took the blade into a reverse grip and holding her hair up she ran the blade against the off-white strands. Her hair offered quite a bit of resistance against the worn blade, but eventually gave way. Once sliced through she looked at the fistful of hair in her hand. She had worn it down to her waist before and now her hair laid against little more than the top of her neck. She stared at it thoughtfully, her mind turning to her mother who was always so proud of her daughter’s long, straight, and beautiful nearly white locks. Offering a small, silent prayer for her departing spirit, she released the hair to the wind and to nature.

* * *

It was nearly dusk by the time Sakura reached the outskirts of Namai. The setting sun gave the rice patties a warm orange glow as she stumbled down the dirt road. The patties were abandoned by now — few workers were out at this hour. She stared at the wavering pools as she walked for what felt like malms. Without the forest’s shade, she had to withstand the brunt of the fading summer heat. She had emptied her waterskin shortly after leaving the river. Her eyes felt heavy as she trudged onward. The small farming village grew closer as she approached and she could see the soft golden hue of lamp-lit houses. She breathed heavily and tried to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Her feet slowly started to give way and she felt herself falter, falling over before being caught by a hand. She stared in awe at her body floating above the ground before realizing she was being supported by a middle-aged hyur woman. She looked up at the concerned face before her eyes started to feel heavy. She shouted something she couldn’t understand.

Sakura awoke to an unfamiliar ceiling. She was under soft linen blankets and had a cool rag on her forehead. She groaned and tried to get up before being held down. She looked to the side to see the same woman who had caught her. Sakura’s lips moved, naught but rasping, gasping sounds coming from her, she had meant to say “where am I?” The woman simply stared at her with concern before offering a ceramic cup filled with water. Sakura took it weakly in her hands and drink from it slowly. The cool liquid giving relief to her whole body. The woman smiled, “You gave us quite a scare, young lady. It seems like your wounds aren’t grievous, yet I doubt you will be speaking any time soon. Whatever happened to you, dear? Most of the villagers were up in arms about my husband and I helping you.” Sakura felt her face contorting into a grim expression as she heard the woman’s explanation. She was from Yukikazi, a smouldering ruin nestled in the Gensui Chain. Sakura shook her head thinking of how to explain. Her mind wandering as the woman refilled her cup. As the woman returned, Sakura pantomimed writing before taking the cup. The woman tilted her head in thought before speaking, “Do you wish to write something, my dear?” Sakura nodded swiftly, wincing as her wound ached, she repeated the motion slower. The hyur woman left the room. Sakura could barely overhear the discussion, “Darling, do we have any parchment and ink?”

“Yes, I think it’s in the desk, my peach.”  
  
“Darling, you know I don’t like it when you call me that while we have guests over. She woke up a few minutes ago.”   
  
“She’s awake?! Why didn’t you tell me, Ageta?”   
  
Sakura couldn’t make out much more before both Ageta and her husband walked into the room. Her husband was, to her surprise, a lupin man. He had graying fur and soft blue eyes. Sakura kept her composure at the odd sight and smiled as Ageta passed her the parchment and inked quill. She quickly wrote out the story of the past day or so, sparse on details, yet enough for Ageta and her husband to know what was going on. She handed the parchment over to the two of them so they could read it and leaned back, her body ached and sitting upright was taking its toll. Ageta was the first to speak, “Tosetsu, what do you make of this?”   
  
“I don’t know, my peach. By the sounds of it, she’s likely wanted dead by the Empire.”   
  
Ageta didn’t respond at first, she instead leaned forward and looked into Sakura’s eyes. It seemed like she searched her face for a detail Sakura didn’t know of and after what felt like almost an agonizing minute, the older woman replied, “Tosetsu, darling… I think the young lady is Lord Yukimoto’s daughter.”   
  
Tosetsu yelped and jumped back, his tail stiff and fluffed up before he calmed momentarily, “Lord Yukimoto? Weren’t the fires two nights ago from around Yukikazi? This girl’s village is _Yukikazi?_ ” Tosetsu paused and stepped forward before continuing, “If that is indeed the case, my nose should recognize her, she’s been here many times in the past before you moved here, my peach.” Tosetsu leaned down and sniffed at Sakura, she found the practice odd, but she knew what the lupin had meant. They were quite like the wolves they resembled and could tell a person’s identity by scent alone. She waited patiently, the charged air in the room left her feeling restless. She was in no condition to defend herself should the lupin choose Garlemald over Doma. After a brief few seconds that felt like an eternity, Tosetsu pulled back, his face weighed down by the truth. His muzzle parted to let out a long sigh before he spoke, “The young lady lives.”

“L-lady Yukimoto is here in our humble house? My, my… this is quite a predicament, isn’t it, Tosetsu?”  
  
“Ageta, relax. Let’s keep the young lady overnight. The Empire isn’t aware of her survival, yet. She needs to rest for now.” The lupin man looked towards Sakura, his eyes softened and tail sporting a gentle sway of affection, “Please, be at ease, Lady Yukimoto. You have many wounds and need to rest.”

Sakura looked at the two of them for a long moment. Her body suddenly felt heavy from Tosetsu’s insistence. Giving a nod she placed the parchment and quill on the sideboard next to the bed and laid back down. The bedding wasn’t particularly comfortable, dried grass and the down of a waterfowl of some sort, yet it was enough that she drifted off to sleep again.

* * *

For three days Sakura remained in Ageta and Tosetsu’s care. The older couple mostly let her be, giving her ample time to rest and recuperate from the past few days. When she wasn’t asleep, she was eating whatever she was offered or repairing her torn clothing with some sewing supplies Ageta had offered her. Her dreams were filled with fires and many times she awoke with a start, her heart racing and body covered in a cold sweat. Often, she would stare down at her hands, seeing them drip with the blood of her family which was buried in shallow graves dug by her own hands. Hot tears burned her cheeks and often Ageta would enter the room, hearing her rustling sheets and embrace her shaking form.

On the fourth morning, Sakura woke to the sound of a Garlean trumpet. Her eyes widened and she struggled to get out of bed. Ageta was fortunately at her side and kept her still, “Easy there, Lady Yukimoto. Tosetsu is investigating what is going on, they came here just a few minutes ago. They wanted the head of each family present so they could make an announcement. I doubt he’ll be gone much longer. Do you wish for some water while we wait?”

Sakura stared at Ageta for a long pause, her eyes still wide with terror before she nodded, her body shaking slightly. Ageta left her for a moment, just long enough for Sakura to sit up and get her balance. She breathed slow and deep in order to calm her nerves. By the time Ageta had returned, Tosetsu was with her. The lupin man had a grim expression across his muzzle and his eyes were sharpened by rage. He sat down where Ageta was before as his wife gave a mug filled with fresh well water to Sakura. “Good, you may wish to drink some of that before I tell you what was just announced, lady Yukimoto.” She did as Tosetsu had requested and drank some of the water. The liquid chilled her still aching throat and relaxed her body. She looked at Tosetsu with apprehension. “The Empire knows you’re alive, lady Yukimoto.”

The brief tidal wave of words crashed against her mind. Sakura’s mug dropped to the ground, splashing water against the dirt foundation of the house. She gripped her head before the world went black. When she came to, she was… standing? Her chest felt flat and she had… a muzzle? The momentary shock was soon replaced by her body moving on its own. It appeared she was outside in Namai, just a few minutes prior? There was a small group of Garlean soldiers awaiting for someone to join the crowd. Her body moved over to the gathering and one of the soldiers, a centurion, spoke up, his voice made hoarse by the helmet he wore over his face, “Listen up, aan of Namai! It has come to the attention of acting imperial viceroy Yotsuyu goe Brutus that the traitor previously known as Sakura bas Yukimoto, now Sakura aan Yukimoto is still at large and is to be considered armed and dangerous. She is wanted dead or alive, any person who presents either proof of her death or her personage in chains will be awarded with citizenship for themselves and their family! Due to this town’s adjacency to the ruins of Yukikazi, we will be performing mandatory nightly searches at the eighteenth bell of each day. Any who resist or are found to be harboring the criminal will be punished with the death of not only themselves, but their entire residency and any material wealth will be seized by the Empire. You will be able to view a sketch of the woman’s features at the town bulletin board. Glory to Garlemald. Dismissed!”

Sakura felt her jaw and fists clench before the strange vision dissipated. As her mind returned to the present, she saw the concerned faces of Ageta and Tosetsu. She moaned and shook her head before reaching for the parchment and quill that Ageta was gracious enough to leave by her bedside. She wrote out quickly to dismiss any fears that the two might have, “I do not understand what just happened, it was a strange vision of Tosetsu I believe. It was just a few moments ago, but it felt so real, as if I was living in your body for a moment.” She went on to describe the events, leaving out none of the details.  
  
Once the two had read her message they exchanged looks before Tosetsu spoke, “That is a strange occurrence, lady Yukimoto. I have no reason to disbelieve what you say is true, it _is_ eerily accurate to what had just occurred, bordering on perfection.” Tosetsu made a confused whine after he finished speaking before he stood up, “Go back to resting, Lady Yukimoto. At noon Ageta and I will wake you, when we do, you’ll leave wearing a hooded cloak, understood? Avoid the main roads and head towards the One River. A battered, tired old man named Tsuranuki has taken up residency in a shake near its eastmost shores. Kami willing he will give you shelter for a day or two.”

* * *

Sakura stood in the doorway of Ageta and Tosetsu’s house. They had given her a lovely cloak made of enchanted silk. Her eyes were misty at the warm gift as Ageta hugged her tightly, “I realize you aren’t my daughter, Lady Yukimoto, but you are such a well behaved girl. If Doma’s sun ever rises again, pray visit us.”

Tosetsu nuzzled her cheek before speaking as well, “You are a strong young lady. Lord Yukimoto would have been quite proud to see your resolve. I realize your wounds are still fresh, but you are stronger than you can possibly imagine, Lady Yukimoto. I can see it in your eyes, you aren’t going to just lay down and die.”

After a few more moments of Ageta squeezing her frame, Sakura left through their door. Ageta and Tosetsu kept quiet as to not alert anyone that a stranger had appeared in the city. Sakura walked through the empty streets, the midday heat leaving most in their houses or under shade by the rice patties. The cloak she wore protected her from the sun and rain. Taking slow steps, Sakura made her way out of Namai, stopping by a persimmon tree as she walked with restored strength, her eyes burning with determination. As she bit into the sweet flesh of the persimmon her mind blazed with thoughts of survival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long! Shadowbringers is just sooooo good. Hopefully now that the hype has started to die down as raiding begins in earnest, I'll spend more time writing and less time running around. Next chapter will be where the fun starts for real, but there will be plenty of slower sections ahead as well!


End file.
